Skepta wants to banish tracksuits and encourage everyone to start “dressing up” again when they go out.
The rapper-turned-fashion designer launched his Mains menswear brand in 2017 and is preparing to show his latest collection at London Fashion Week featuring shirts and suits as well as photo-printed denim and a leather trench coat — and he insists he wants his clothes to bring back the art of dressing up instead of down.
“Streetwear [stopped] people from dressing up to go out,” he told WWD.com. “People now want to wear their tracksuits to clubs and the promoters give in because these are affluent people, who’ll spend money on drinks.
“What I want to do is take fashion back to music. I want to start doing raves where you’re only allowed in with shoes so that people will start dressing up again. Not getting dressed was what killed the rave …
“I want people to feel that soon as they put these clothes on, they’ll want to go out and express themselves.”
He turned his attention to his passion project.
“I’m having more fun, I’m actually tapping into my first love of fashion and that makes it more authentic for me,” he said. “There’s more passion when you’re designing from something that you know, and care about. In fashion it takes time to find your language.”
Skepta included tracksuits in his first runway show in London last year and he insisted he wanted to make chic versions that will stand the test of time.
“Tracksuits are part of the London fashion DNA,” he told The Guardian. “But I want to make tracksuits that will still be around in vintage stores in the future.”
He also admitted leaving decisions to the last minute ahead of his fashion show heightened his nerves.
“[It’s] bringing me a bit of anxiety,” he said. “I mean, I would never plan a music show like this. It would never be like, I’m doing a set in three days and I haven’t written all the songs yet, that wouldn’t happen.
“But there are clothes that I haven’t touched physically, that we are banking on being in the show in three days time. That doesn’t make any sense to my brain.”
